Sorry to bump old thread. But i've found old Jv16 ergistry cleaner (last freeware version) searches for more absolute registry keys than CCcleaner's Registry cleaner. I don't get it why such huge difference in finding out registry keys.

It's been MANY years since I used the free version of JVPowerTools, so I don't recall the specifics.  I do know that as far back as 2005, the paid version had two settings: Normal and Aggressive.  The number of items found was greatly increased if you used Aggressive.  I almost always used Normal.  The current version (JVPowerTools2009) has a four-point scale for you to select from. It goes from "Emphasize safety of the Registry Cleaner engine over both scan speed and the number of found errors" on one end to "Emphasize number of found errors and speed of the Registry Cleaner over safety and accuracy."  Of course, in all cases you are asked whether you want JV to make a backup of items before fixing them.  I always say yes, but fortunately I've never had to make use of the backup.

I can't comment on Innuendo's view that registry cleaners are usually unnecessary.  There do seem to be two camps about this.  All I know is that I'm forever installing and moving and renaming and uninstalling files/programs/whatever, and given how I use the computer, I tend to think that using a Registry Cleaner can be helpful.  But I don't know enough to be certain about this.

Simpler solution is to install a virtual OS (there are loads of host options these days some free) and only test stuff in the virtual OS keeping your main OS clean of all the crap that accumulates.

Or, run your os in a sandbox. I swear by Returnil. Muck it up as much as you want then simply reboot and you are fresh again.

Trouble with loading up old images, is then I'd lose all the improvements I've installed on my system.  Likewise for me, virtual OS stuff seems more pain than it's worth.  Sandboxie I like.  When I'm done running the program in the prophylactic, I can just kill the sandbox and stop the Sandboxie service.  If only it ran in Vista64!

I run my system pretty lean anyway. I don't really feel the need to wipe my system partition. I do an image backup every few days to guard against disaster.  About the only thing I use to optimize the registry is NTREGOPT, and then only every few months.  Just seems to boot smoother for awhile after running it.

Hi Folks,

Cyberdiva, one thing I noticed about SuperAntiSpyware (generally top-notch) was that .. even though I simply wanted it for an on-demand scan .. it was very pushy about putting stuff into the boot-time (possibly hoping that I would need it some day on a real-time upgrade .. clearly it could check for any updates at the beginning of an on-demand run).

Wondering .. was SAS involved in your unruly school children fight ?

As for registry cleaners, probably the best single thing to do is to uninstall with Revo Uninstaller rather than only Add/Remove.  After each uninstall you will end up deleting a couple of paths and/or registry entries that would have been left over.  The registry cleaning industry, when it is not outright sham and scareware, is much ado about very, very little.  If you happen to know a certain type of registry entry is quite recognizable and harmless, you could delete them with CCleaner or Eusing or somebody (the more conservative the better) .. however generally your time would be far better spent elsewhere.

btw, a good number of the techies on the net make $$ one way or another, directly or indirectly (google ads) with the sham & scare products, so they tend to not want to bite a feeding hand and say .. e.g. .. "beware of all the uniblue and paretologic and any google-advertised registry cleaner and speedup products, they are junk and dangerous".  

The situation with registry and drivers are similar .. when your system is running smooth and decent, a good way to bring that smooth running to a screeching halt is to do an auotmatic software-directed "cleaning" (registry) or a software-directed "update" (drivers).  And the registry is the more dangerous of the two.

Shalom,
Steven Avery

I pointed out Vit Registry cleaner in this thread and have since given it a big thumbs down. It is way too aggressive and ignorant.

Just wanted to point that out since this thread is back up to the top.

Power Tools Lite isn't too bad it seems.
discussed here along with a couple others.

http://www.freewaregenius.com/2009/05/16/powertools-lite-a-new-freeware-version-of-the-famous-jv16powertools-registry-cleaner/

@steeladept I played around with VirtualBox.  Also the MS incarnation of the same strategy.  I think if I was going to do virtual I'd want something that just uses the Shadow Copy service and is nearly automatic. Unfortunately, like Sandboxie, I haven't found one for 64 bit that didn't appear to be dead(a la Disk Write Copy with a forum that hasn't had a post in 6 months or a program update in 8.)

Besides, I'm always installing small utilities, and tweaking my system.  So now I have to invest in some software that allows me to "save the changes" etc.  Why do all that when I can do a system image save in 15 minutes? If I was doing software testing for a living that's another story.  But for me the Sandboxie modus operandi seems most convenient.

Everyone has their own preferences. If it works for you more power to you.

All I know is that I'm forever installing and moving and renaming and uninstalling files/programs/whatever, and given how I use the computer, I tend to think that using a Registry Cleaner can be helpful.  But I don't know enough to be certain about this.

All I can tell you is of my own personal experiences. I am a software junkie. If I have a software need (yes, need, dang it!) I will relentlessly search till I have found every program that will fulfill that need & I will end up installing a bunch of those till I finally have the one I consider to be best. I do this for every program I have on my PC. Sadly, it doesn't end there. Every few months I go check out all the new developments in programs and if they look like they can usurp my current choice I install them to give them a try out.

Everything I don't keep, of course, is uninstalled. Compound this phenomena with dabbling in PC games (I'll install games, try them out and after I've beat them or gotten bored with them they are uninstalled) my registry probably has a cubic butt-load of irrelevant obsolete entries.

I never do any registry maintenance and I don't have any program compatibility problems nor does my system run any slower than when I first installed my OS.

Actually, the only problems I have on my system from time to time are those evil little programs you install that covertly commandeer all your file associations behind your back. Fortunately, there aren't as many of those as there used to be and UAC blocks almost all of the remaining offenders.

Side note: Though I have never used it I have heard wonderful things about Total Uninstaller. If someone were looking for something that does what edbro talks about in his post then Total Uninstaller would be the first one I'd try.

I think what we need is an automated gizmo to clone a mini-OS from the system partition, to a blank partition in like 10 minutes.  Then try your stuff out.  If it gets hosed, wipe and recreate it.  No messing with settings.  The program(which I have no intention of writing I must say) should do all that by analyzing what you've got on the "real" OS partition.

Reboot, install a bunch of junk, if it goes sour, reboot the "real" OS and rerun the mini-OS creation tool.

The other quandry is when uninstalling if you get that "do you want to delete shared library x.dll? ... nothing is using it" query.. then you delete it and stuff is hosed mucho.

You'd think with all this database technology they could tell you what used to use it and when, and what will happen if you delete it.. instead of just the ref count = 0.

I think <removed link> is best registry software that one can trust.

edit by jgpaiva: removed link to site with low reputability